


Three Small Words

by laykay



Category: One Day at a Time (TV 2017)
Genre: F/F, Gen, i don't know what this is, starts a little angsty and ends fluffy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-10
Updated: 2018-02-10
Packaged: 2019-03-16 05:18:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,333
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13629417
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/laykay/pseuds/laykay
Summary: Elena lets three little words slip while she's out with Syd





	Three Small Words

**Author's Note:**

> The world needs more Syd/Elena. Welcome to my lame attempt.

Penelope, Alex, Lydia, and Schneider all looked up from their dinner when the apartment door opened and Elena ran in, slamming it behind her.

“You’re home early,” Penelope said.  She stood up from the table when she noticed her daughter was crying.  “What happened?”

Elena shook her head, brushing past them and running to her room.  The other three sat at the table, looking at each other silently.  “What happened?” Alex finally said.  “She was with Syd, wasn’t she?”

Penelope closed her eyes.  “Oh no,” she muttered under her breath, covering her mouth with one hand.

“I’ll talk to her,” Schneider decided as he stood up.  “I have plenty of experience with breakups.”

Penelope turned to look at him.  “No,” she said, her hand dropping from her mouth to point at him.  “We don’t know they broke up, okay? Let’s not upset her more.  I’ll go talk to her, figure out what’s happening and if I need you, I’ll let you know, okay?”

Schneider nodded dutifully before sitting down again as Penelope went to Elena’s room.  She knocked twice on the closed bedroom door before pushing it open to see her daughter sitting on top of her bed, legs pulled up to her chest with her head on her knees.

“Hey, _mija_ ,” Penelope said softly as she walked into the room, closing the door again.  “Do you wanna talk about it?”  Elena shook her head silently, wiping her nose on the sleeve of her shirt.  “Okay, I know fighting sucks and this is your first relationship, everything that happens seems like the end of the world but whatever it is, it’s gonna be okay.”

Elena shook her head as her mother sat next to her on the bed.  “It won’t.  I really messed up,” she mumbled.

Penelope raised her eyebrows.  “Well, I know you aren’t pregnant,” she said lightly.  Elena didn’t laugh, Penelope put her arms around her and held her tight.  “You can tell me what happened or we can just sit here until you’re all cried out.”  She rubbed Elena’s arm, brushing a strand of hair out of her face.  “Whatever it is, baby, you just need to apologize.  You need to tell Syd you’re sorry, that you didn’t mean whatever happened.”

Elena shook her head.  “That’s the problem. I did mean it,” she whispered.  “I told Syd that I love them.”

Penelope froze for a second, trying to process that her daughter was newly in love and heartbroken at the same time, trying to think what she could say to make the situation better.  “I guess they didn’t say it back.”

“They didn’t say anything.  Just stared at me like… like I was out of my mind.  I wasn’t planning on saying it.  I mean, I knew I felt it but I wanted it to be this whole stupid romantic thing and then we were just out getting some ice cream and a little bit was on their chin.  They looked so cute and I just said it.”

“So when Syd didn’t say it back, what did you say?”

“I left,” Elena said, pushing up her glasses to wipe her eyes.  “Ran all the way back home.”

“Well at least you got a good workout.”  Elena rolled her eyes at her mother, so Penelope tightened her arm around her.  “Can I tell you a story?”

“No.”

“Okay, let me rephrase.  I’m gonna tell you a story, about your father and me.  It’s a good one, I promise,” Penelope said quickly, not having to look at Elena to know the look she was giving her.  “We had been dating a few months and it was amazing.  You know I was wild about him and one night we were out, we had just had dinner and were in the backseat of Mrs. Resnick…”

“Mom!”

“Talking. We were talking.”

“You can talk in the front seat.”

Penelope shook her head.  “Fine.  But we did some talking, okay?   Anyway, that night he told me he loved me for the first time.  What do I do? Throw up my _medianoche_ all over his lap.  After some time and about seventeen showers, we could laugh about it.”

“I really don’t think Syd and I will ever laugh about this.”

“You’ll figure it out.  If you really love them, you can give them time.  Trust me, being in love with someone who loves you back is the best feeling in the world.  It’s worth waiting for.”  She kissed the top of Elena’s head softly.  “You’re gonna be just fine, I promise.”

There was a knock on the door and Alex stepped in.  “Syd’s here.  They weren’t sure if you wanted to talk to them.”

Elena looked at her mother, who smiled and nodded as she rubbed her back.  Elena left the room, Alex turned to follow her but Penelope grabbed the back of his shirt.

Elena wiped her eyes even though she was sure it was obvious she had been crying, she didn’t want to actively be crying when she saw Syd.  She glanced into her grandmother’s bedroom, sighing in relief when she saw she wasn’t standing at the curtain listening.  Syd was alone in the living room, propped against the arm of the couch.

“Hey,” Elena said, crossing her arms as she walked over to them slowly.

“Hey,” Syd muttered.

“I’m sorry,” they both said at the same time.

Elena shook her head.  “Don’t.  Don’t be sorry.  Look about earlier, I didn’t mean it.”

Syd’s face fell, going pale.  “Oh.”

Elena shook her head again.  “No, I don’t mean that I didn’t mean it. I meant it.”

Syd blinked.  “So what didn’t you mean?”

“Running away,” she said with a shrug.

“You ran for over a mile.  You had to have really meant it.”

Elena nodded.  “Yeah, I could really use a nap.”  She ran her hands through her hair.  “I just… I’m sorry.  Look, maybe it’s too early to say what I said but it’s out there and I can’t unsay it.  And I didn’t say it just so you’d say it back.  I mean, I wouldn’t mind if you wanted to say it back but you totally don’t have to.  Not right now at least.  Or ever if… if it’s not a thing you say.”

Syd stared at her, blinking silently.

“Okay, but you really need to stop looking at me like I just grew a second head.”

“You don’t want me to say it back?”

“Not if you don’t want to.” Elena stepped towards them, reached for their hand but let her arm fall back to her side.  “It’s not a big deal.”

Syd’s eyes narrowed.  “Yes, it is.”

Elena sighed, shaking her head.  “I can’t say anything right today, can I?”

“You know you can say what you feel.  I don’t want us keeping things from each other.” Syd inhaled deeply then released it slowly.  “I wasn’t expecting you to say it, especially when I was drooling strawberry ice cream."  They closed the distance between them to kiss Elena quickly.  "You owe me a song and dance number.” 

“What, now?  Okay, I did not plan ahead but I can wing it.”  She stepped back a bit, releasing a quick breath.  “Are you ready for this?  Cause it’s gonna be bad.  Like legitimately bad.”  She started dancing, something that was a mix between the salsa and the robot.   “I really know what I’m doing so I’m just gonna say it, you already know it,” she sang in a broken rap style.   “Baby, you’re my favorite person in this whole wide world and I’ll tell you again, as much as you want me to, that I love you.”  She paused then held up the Vulcan salute on both hands like a gang sign.  “Yo.”

Syd laughed, walking over to Elena to kiss her.

“It would be better if I planned it a little,” Elena said, her hands at Syd’s waist.

Syd shook their head.  “I like you being spontaneous.  And I love you too.”


End file.
